Please can I have more?

Published 5 Aug 2010 18:00 0 Comments

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By Danielle Cumber

TAKE a step back in time and dine under the watchful eyes of Charles Dickens right in the heart of Reading.

The Dickens Bar and Brasserie in the courtyard of the Mercure George Hotel hides away behind the facade of a ye olde English house - in fact the restaurant is in one of the town's oldest buildings still occupied, dating back to the 1300s - but the food must not be missed!

Since March new management and staff have transformed the restaurant into a classic delicacy and hope to create an 'old English/European' restaurant.

They are busy working on a new menu, set for release in the autumn, but have not neglected to make the current, largely homemade, dishes as delicious as possible.

On arrival the staff were incredibly helpful and friendly and the chefs took the time out to ensure us that if there was anything we wanted that was not on the menu, if they had the ingredients they would cook it for us - a service which is set to become common in the restaurant.

To start I chose tomato and goats cheese tart, £5.95. My boyfriend followed the chef's recommendations and had the chicken liver pate, £5.50, which he described as "the nicest pate I've ever had".

Our starters were followed by cauliflower and veloce soup served in cappuccino style in a mug, complete with a foaming top and a ham and cheese toastie.

The soup was creamy and not too rich and just like Oliver Twist, I wanted more.

For his main course my boyfriend chose a dish from the up and coming menu, the lamb shank with the current spicy cous cous replaced with roast garlic and mint mash potato.

The lamb was so tender it fell off the bone and the mash was like mint sauce with twist.

Then came dessert and after such extraordinary food we had great expectations and were not disappointed.

Again the chef recommended a dish from the new menu, which he devised himself while feeding his children, a toffee apple pancake with homemade golden syrup ice cream.

This entertaining dish was like something out of a children's fairytale and tasted fantastic.

It was the perfect end to a top-quality meal.

Where? 10-12 King Street, Reading, RG1 2HE.

Telephone: 0118 957 3445.

Website: www.dickensbrasserie.com

How much? Starter - £4.50-£11.50, main course -£6.95-£16.95, desserts - £4.50.

Opening times: Daily noon-10pm.

This article appeared in Royal Borough Observer 05 Aug 10

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